


New Roads

by carolinecrane



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-26
Updated: 2010-09-26
Packaged: 2017-10-12 05:33:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/121352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's not much Morgan wouldn't do for Reid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Roads

They'd been searching the woods for a couple hours when one of the local uniforms found the body. He was still retching in the bushes when the sheriff called in the volunteers and began the task of loading civilians back on the bus for the trip back to town. The team had its own transportation, thankfully, because they were all grateful for the help, sure, but the last thing Morgan felt like doing after spending a few hours out in the woods on a too-warm fall day was cramming into a bus full of people.

He brought up the rear of their group, keeping a watchful eye on the crowd around them as they headed back to the clearing where J.J. and the sheriff had organized a makeshift search headquarters. He was so busy scanning faces for a potential unsub that he didn't see Reid stop in front of him until Morgan was practically on top of him, and he caught himself just before he slammed into Reid's back.

"What's the problem, man?" Morgan asked, frowning as he watched Reid stare down at his right shoe, rolling his ankle like he was trying to shake something loose.

"I think I have a rock in my shoe," Reid said, voice lifting at the end of the sentence. Like it was a question; like maybe he was waiting for Morgan to tell him that he was crazy, that people didn't get rocks in their shoes just from wandering around in the wilderness in a pair of loafers. It was the same voice he used when he was asking Morgan if a girl was flirting with him, or why J.J. and Prentiss kept making fun of his hair. Because he was a genius, sure, but when it came to the everyday stuff he knew less than anyone Morgan had ever met.

"You think?"

Morgan grinned and glanced ahead of them to make sure the rest of the team wasn't waiting before he dropped to one knee in front of Reid. He didn't miss the slight widening of Reid's eyes or the hint of color that crept up his neck, but he didn't mention it, and a second later Reid pulled himself back together.

"Well, I suppose it could be something other than a rock. A piece of bark, maybe. Did you know that there are more than one hundred distinct species of pine trees? Science hasn't agreed on an exact number, but the best estimate is somewhere around a hundred and fifteen. In these woods alone..."

Morgan rolled his eyes and reached for Reid's foot. "Save it, genius. Come on, lift up."

Reid stopped talking abruptly and lifted his foot, letting Morgan rest it on his own thigh while he untied the lace. He knew if he looked up Reid would be blushing even harder, but he kept his gaze focused on the task at hand, at least until he got Reid's shoe off. He set Reid's sock-covered foot back on his thigh, one hand wrapped around his ankle while he shook the shoe with his free hand. It took a couple firm shakes, but finally a small pebble popped out of Reid's shoe and disappeared into the undergrowth. Morgan looked up at Reid long enough to grin at him, then he lifted Reid's foot and slid it back into his shoe.

Reid's hand gripped Morgan's shoulder, long fingers curling against his shirt as Reid steadied himself. Morgan took his time tying Reid's shoe, but he knew it wouldn't be long before someone noticed they'd fallen behind, so finally he relinquished Reid's foot and stood up.

Reid fell into step beside him as he started after the rest of the team, quiet for a few long moments and Morgan couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or maybe just weirded out by the whole thing. And maybe it was a little weird; it wasn't the kind of thing Morgan would do for Dave or Emily, for instance. But Reid...well, Reid was special, and if he didn't know that by now, he was never going to get a clue. Derek thought it was pretty obvious when he hung around in Vegas to help Reid figure out what his dreams meant, but they hadn't talked about it afterwards, so he figured maybe Reid didn't want to know.

"Thanks," Reid finally said, and when Morgan looked over at him his heart skipped a beat. Reid looked thoughtful, maybe a little embarrassed too, but Morgan could see that he got it. Morgan was going to take care of him, whether it meant watching his back or sticking his nose in Reid's business uninvited or just fishing a rock out of his shoe. And if Reid wanted something else from him...well, all he had to do was say the word, and he could have that too.

"You know," Morgan said, sliding an arm around Reid's shoulders, "when I was a kid, my Sunday School teacher used to tell us to put a pebble in our shoe, so that every time we felt it, we'd remember to say a prayer for someone who needed it."

"I don't pray."

Neither did Morgan, for a long time, and he still wasn't sure how he felt about God and church and prayers that might never be answered. But he knew how he felt about Reid, and he didn't need a pebble or anything else to remind him. He was pretty sure he knew how Reid felt, too; he'd heard Reid calling Morgan's name in his sleep, anyway, and that was close enough to an answered prayer for him.


End file.
